A sonic boom was heard in several states on Tuesday after a meteor broke the sound barrier over Ohio, according to the National Weather Service. The explosion was reported over northeastern Ohio around 9 a.m. ET, but could be heard as far away as New York and the fireball was seen in multiple states.
A sonic boom occurs when an object enters the atmosphere at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. So far, there have been no reports of casualties caused by meteors entering the atmosphere.
Witnesses from Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, reported seeing the fireball, NASA reported.
The meteor was first spotted at 8:57 a.m. at an altitude of 50 miles above Lake Erie near Lorain Beach in northern Ohio, according to NASA. Moving east to south at 40,000 mph, it passed through the upper atmosphere for more than 34 miles before breaking up 30 miles above Valley City, north of Medina. The fireball was caused by an asteroid nearly 6 feet across and weighing about 7 tons.
NASA said: “The asteroid released the energy of 250 tons of TNT explosives as it shattered, creating pressure waves that traveled to the ground and caused many roars and explosions heard by the public. It also may have shaken homes north of Medina. We thank the American Meteor Society for providing eyewitness accounts.”
Jared Rackley, an employee at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, captured video of the meteor as it entered the atmosphere. Several other social media users posted video footage of the meteor captured at their homes, businesses and cars.
The explosion was so loud that some local readers thought their house had been hit by something or exploded, according to cleveland.com. The roar appeared to be loudest in Northeast Ohio, with readers from Bay Village, Pepper Pike, Parma Heights and Strongsville reporting hearing the roar.
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